This invention relates generally to amusement and sports devices, and more particularly it concerns a game footbag which is kickable by one or more players for keeping the footbag aloft for a period of time.
Game footbags for use by one or more players are known. Such footbags are useful in recreational or sports settings in which one or more players desire to kick the footbag and keep it aloft for a period of time. Additionally, such footbags are useful for teaching eye-to-foot coordination. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,994 to Stalberger, Jr. discloses a footbag having a nearly spherical shape formed from two dogbone-shaped cover pieces which are stitched together about their peripheries and filled with a filler material which includes a plurality of pellets.
Such conventionally-available footbags have been found to be difficult to master by a beginning player because of a number of reasons. First, such footbags are generally small, having diameters of around 1.5-to 2-inches. Such a small target is difficult for a beginning player to contact. Second, such conventionally-available footbags are generally filled with hardened pellets which cause such footbags to greatly rebound into the air when kicked. This increases the potential distance a footbag may travel, and in turn, subsequently increases the chances that a new player will not be able to get to a falling footbag in time to relaunch the same into the air.
A significant need exists for a footbag which may be practiced with by a beginning player so that the player will be able to learn and master fundamental kicking and playing techniques which are necessary for playing with smaller, more conventional footbags.
With the above problems in mind, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a footbag which may be used by a beginning player for learning playing techniques which would otherwise be more difficult to learn with conventional footbags.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a footbag which is dimensioned for enhanced aerodynamic characteristics which are most suitable for beginning players.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a footbag which is more controllable by a player.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a footbag which is inexpensive to manufacture, yet durable enough to withstand the uses to which it will be put.
The invention achieves these and other objects in the form of a low-rebound, impact-deformable footbag which includes plural panels having peripheral edges which are connected together, and when so connected define an impact-deformable, semi-collapsible chamber which permits the footbag to assume an arbitrarily-changing, random shape in response to an externally-applied deformation force, such as kicking, kneeing and the like. The footbag includes at least one panel, a portion of which is formed from an apertured material for providing a view internally of the chamber. Plural lightweight, impact-damping filler members are disposed in the chamber, some of which are viewable through the apertured material. Such filler members are positioned within the chamber for interacting with other such filler members for damping such applied deformation force.
These and additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood after a consideration of the drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.